The executive director of KUER and PBS Utah announced on Jan. 16 that the organization has laid off eight employees across both organizations, with an additional five retiring early.
Executive Director Maria O’Mara said there are no additional layoffs planned at this time.
“Like our colleagues across the country, with the loss of federal funding, PBS Utah and KUER are facing difficult budget realities,” O’Mara wrote in a statement. “PBS Utah and KUER feel deep appreciation for those who are leaving us. We will miss them and their good work.”
Affected employees were notified Jan. 15 that their employment was ending. The rest of the staff was informed during all-hands meetings Jan. 16.
The layoffs come almost exactly six months after Congress voted to rescind $1.1 billion of federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, at the behest of President Trump. NPR and PBS have increasingly drawn the ire of conservatives in recent years who have accused the national networks of bias toward left-leaning politics.
The CPB is the organization that distributes federal funds to NPR, PBS, and their member stations across the country, including KUER and PBS Utah. On January 5, the CPB board voted to dissolve the agency. In total, the CPB supported over 1,500 television and radio stations across the country.
Despite additional fundraising after the rescission, KUER and PBS Utah still were not able to make up the full amount lost.
“Since July we have been carefully considering all our programs and services, wanting to meet this moment with minimal disruption to the communities we have served for decades,” O’Mara wrote in a memo to KUER employees. “Our members responded with remarkable generosity last year, and we heard from listeners who had never given before. But those donations did not quite close the gap.”
O’Mara said while donations to both stations have increased in the six months since the rescissions, it was not enough to close a revenue gap of roughly $3 million.
Even with the cuts, KUER and PBS Utah are in a different situation than some other public media organizations across the country. NJ PBS announced on Sept. 23 of last year that it will cease operations at the end of June. In Washington state, KWSU-TV ended operations on Dec. 31, 2025.
Other public television and radio stations have also announced layoffs or programming cuts directly related to the rescissions. According to an online public media layoff tracker, there have been nearly 500 layoffs nationwide since July 18, 2025. NPR has warned that many stations that received CPB funding — especially those serving rural and underserved audiences — could be forced to shut down.
In a memo to PBS Utah employees, O’Mara wrote that some changes to the station’s programming will be announced in the coming weeks.
“We have been honest that the loss of federal funding to public television would likely diminish some of that service,” she wrote.
On the radio side, O’Mara explained in a separate memo to KUER employees that there will be no changes to regular programming.
“Many of you will have to pick up extra duties,” she wrote. “Some of you have lost a part of your team. All of us have lost valued colleagues.”
In total, KUER and PBS Utah received approximately $3 million from the federal government per year. The portion of KUER’s budget that came directly from the CPB was between 7% and 8%. The portion of PBS Utah’s budget from CPB was about 15%.
Despite the losses, O’Mara said the decision to cut jobs was for the long-term health of both organizations and ensured that KUER and PBS Utah are “here to stay.”
“While this moment is undoubtedly challenging, PBS Utah and KUER have now built a sustainable future,” she said. “Programming changes will be minimal, and the stations will not diminish their commitment to school readiness and literacy for Utah children, local news and civic conversation, and the celebration of art, history and life-long learning.”
Disclosure: This story was reported and written by KUER reporter Sean Higgins and edited by PMJA Editor Corps editor Mike Marcotte. No KUER or PBS Utah senior manager, executive or member of the newsroom editorial leadership team reviewed this story before it was published.
Produced with assistance from the Public Media Journalists Association Editor Corps funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.”
